1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a printing system and a print control method.
2. Description of the Related Art
A content printing system that allows a client to transmit a print instruction to a server and causes the server to convert a print target content into print data in response to the received print instruction is conventionally proposed. A cloud computing is a recently featured system that includes a server that can provides a service to a client.
The cloud computing is mainly characterized by simultaneously processing requests from many clients using many computing resources to discretely execute data conversion and data processing. At present, many vendors are available for computer users who require web services installed on cloud computing environments that can realize such a cloud computing system capable of providing various types of services.
Google (registered trademark) is one of the noteworthy vendors that can provide numerous services on the cloud computing environments. Google has many large-scale data centers and proposes a variety of services based on association with devices. Google has developed an infrastructure for data communications between a device and the service. For example, Google has developed a data communication infrastructure that can provide various services in association with an image forming apparatus. The interface via which the image forming apparatus can perform data communications in the cloud computing environments prepared by Google is currently opened to the public. According to the introduced system, the image forming apparatus receives a print request from the service and performs printing according to the received print request. Further, acquiring a change in print status is feasible based on polling from a web application to the service.
There is a conventional system that allows an information processing apparatus (e.g., PC) connected to a web server via a network to display an operation screen provided by the web server using a web browser installed on the information processing apparatus. According to the conventional system, the web browser of the information processing apparatus requests the web server to transmit the operation screen. Then, in response to the request from the information processing apparatus, a web application of the web server sends a response including HTML data to the information processing apparatus so that the web browser can display the operation screen based on the received HTML data.
The web browser of the information processing apparatus analyzes the received HTML data and displays the operation screen based on a description of the HTML data. Further, if a user inputs an instruction via the operation screen displayed by the web browser, the web browser sends a notification including the input instruction to the web server. When the web application of the web server receives the notification from the web browser, the web application performs processing according to the input instruction.
Recently, the web browser has been installable on a multi function peripheral (MFP) having scanner and printer functions. In this case, the MFP displays the operation screen provided by the web server on the web browser of the MFP using the above-described procedure and receives various instructions from a user via the operation screen.
Further, according to another conventional system, the web server provides an operation screen that allows users to input instructions to use various functions of the MFP. Each user can input an instruction to be transmitted to the MFP via the operation screen displayed by the web browser. In the above-described system, the web server requests the MFP to perform processing according to the content of the instruction input by the user. When the MFP receives the request from the web server, the MFP performs the requested processing. In other words, it is unnecessary for the MFP to store all of the operation screens required to operate the MFP. Further, the operation screen can be easily modified or updated by the web server.
More specifically, as conventionally known by Remote Procedure Call (RPC), it is useful to open MFP functions to the public so that users can appropriately invoke a required MFP function from the web server. According to such a method, the web server can possess a main logic of the processing in such a way as to control the MFP or process user interactive processing. On the other hand, the MFP can reduce the burden in processing. For example, if the MFP functions are opened to the public as web services, each MFP function can be executed by calling a local sub routine from the web server. Further, when the server manages a response to the call, the server can possess the main logic of the processing.
Further, it is useful to provide an MFP operating system in which the web server provides a control script based on an instruction input via the operation screen displayed by the web browser and a device executes the control script.
In the above-described system, the control script is sent to the device as a response replying to the request from the web browser. Therefore, it is unnecessary to provide a connection between the web server and the MFP. The system is usable in a case where the MFP is protected by a firewall or in an environment requiring network address conversion.
As discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-131388, it is conventionally known that an image forming apparatus can change the content to be displayed on an operation panel according to an event occurring in the image forming apparatus.
The system discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-131388 is configured to perform display control for the operation panel using a web browser. Printing may be performed in the image forming apparatus discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-131388 or in a system including a web browser (e.g., MFP) capable of displaying an operation screen provided from the web server and performing processing according to a print instruction input via the displayed operation screen.
In this case, using various file formats managed by the web application in performing printing is generally difficult because installation of a file format conversion module is required for each of newly introduced file formats on the server or the MFP. The costs will increase greatly.
In other words, there is not any conventional printing system that can appropriately execute file format conversion processing when a print request transmitted from an image forming apparatus that includes a web browser to a web server includes the file format conversion settings.
Further, the technique discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-131388 is a technique that allows the image forming apparatus to change display contents according to an event caused by a hardware control in the image forming apparatus. Accordingly, the following problem may occur if the above-described technique is applied to the system in which an image forming apparatus transmits a print instruction to an external print service via a web server and the external print service generates print data according to the print instruction, and the image forming apparatus acquires the above-described print data and outputs a printed product.
More specifically, the technique discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-131388 cannot be used to update the screen supplied from the web server, which is displayed by the web browser of the image forming apparatus, according to a change in job status (print status) managed by the external print service.